The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 634,843 Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 22.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,456,230 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 634,843 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.76% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $211,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC bought a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $78.00 target price for the company. Stifel Canada downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.67.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WPM traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.74. The company had a trading volume of 900,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,649. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $62.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.29. The firm has a market cap of $28.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.31, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.77. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a one year low of $38.57 and a one year high of $68.64.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34. The company had revenue of $308.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $324.57 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.27%.

Wheaton Precious Metals Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.